Lillie Ravenel is a teenage girl from Louisiana, brought to the north by her loyalist father at the outbreak of the American Civil War. She is pursued by two contrasting suitors. Captain Edward Colburne is a virtuous New Englander whose bland goodness makes him seem a perfect match for the uninspiring Miss Ravenel. Her second suitor, Colonel John Carter is a native Virginian, but loyal to the Union. Opposite to Colburne likes to drink and gamble, but he is a man of honor and an admirable military officer. Friendship with these men of the North brings the change in her belief, eventually converting her to the cause of the Union. She returns to New Orleans only to find herself shunned by her old circle of friends for having too many associations with the enemy. Civil War battles that Lillie's suitors go through are described as a bloody and inglorious hell.

Excerpt from Miss. Ravenel's Conversion From Secession to Loyalty It was shortly after the capitulation of loyal Fort Sumter to rebellious south Carolina that Mr. Edward Colburne of new Boston made the acquaintance of Miss Lillie Ravenel of New Orleans. An obscure American author remarks in one of his rejected articles, (which he had the kindness to read to me from the manuscript) that every great historical event reverberates in a very remarkable manner through the fortunes of a multitudes of private and even secluded individuals. No volcanic eruption of the mountain's mice. it was unquestionably the southern rebellion which brought Miss Ravenel and Mr. Colburne into interesting juxtaposition. But for this gigantic political untruning it is probable that the young gentleman then lived, or, visiting it and meeting him there, would have been a person of no necessary importance in his eyes. But how could a most loyal, warm-hearted youth fail to be interested in a pretty and intelligent girl who was exiled from her home because her father would not be a rebel? New Boston, by the way, is the capital city of the little Yankee State of Barataria. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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Miss Ravenel's Conversion from Secession to Loyalty (1867) is an American Civil War novel by veteran John William DeForest.... John William De Forest (May 31, 1826 - July 17, 1906) was an American soldier and writer of realistic fiction, best known for his Civil War novel Miss Ravenel's Conversion from Secession to Loyalty. Early life and career: De Forest was born in Seymour, Connecticut, (then called Humphreysville), the son of a prosperous cotton manufacturer. He did not attend college, but instead pursued independent studies, mainly abroad, where he was a student in Latin, and became a fluent speaker of French, Italian, and Spanish. While yet a youth, he spent four years traveling in Europe, and two years in the Levant, residing chiefly in Syria. In 1850, he again visited Europe, making extensive tours through Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Greece, and Asia Minor. From that time, he wrote short stories for periodicals, having already authored several books. One of his earliest works, The History of the Indians of Connecticut, from the Earliest known Period to 1850, shows his interest in history. Written from 1847 to 1850, The History of the Indians of Connecticut is critical of the settlers treatment of the Pequots and of King Philip's War, which is somewhat surprising given the early date of the scholarship.[1] The non-fictional work also foreshadows De Forest's later fiction in its subject, realism, and occasional violence. The honorary degree of A. M. was conferred upon him by Amherst College in 1859. Civil War: With the advent of the American Civil War, De Forest returned to the United States. As a captain in the Union Army, he organized a company from New Haven, the 12th Connecticut Volunteers. He served constantly in the field until January 1865, taking an active part under Maj. Gen. Godfrey Weitzel's command in the southwestern states, and under Philip Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley. Graphic descriptions of battle scenes in Louisiana, and of Sheridan's battles in the valley of the Shenandoah, were published in Harper's Monthly during the war by Major De Forest, who was present on all the occasions thus mentioned, and though experiencing forty-six days under fire, received but one trifling wound. De Forest mustered out from the volunteer army in 1865 with the brevet rank of major.